Govt to spend 300Bn. on National Fibre-Optic Network

THE government will spend over 300bn/- on laying the national fibre-optic network, the Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, Prof Makame Mbarawa, has said.
The minister said the plan is to connect the whole country, with the cable reaching each district before the end of 2012. Prof Mbarawa said this at a meeting with senior government officials in Rukwa, adding that over 10,000 km distance would have been networked by next March.&#8232;&#8232;
The project is financed jointly by China and Tanzania with the former dishing out over 170m USD and the latter over 30bn/-.&#8232;&#8232;The project will reduce costs for operators and boost connectivity in the country thus benefiting individuals and institutions, he said.

According to the Minister, phase one of the project has already been carried out in which 19 regions and 59 districts have been connected, while the remaining Lindi , Ruvuma, Kigoma, Rukwa and Mbeya would be covered in the next phase.&#8232;&#8232;Prof Mbarawa said, upon its completion, the project would open more doors for computer users as language will no longer be a barrier.

According to him, the government is committed to promotion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) application in various fields including e-learning at different levels of education.

&#8232;&#8232;"We will from next financial year set aside a budget for the implementation of the Tanzania Beyond Tomorrow (TBT) project in which through ICT a teacher can teach many students in various regions at a time.&#8232;&#8232;"This will, to a large extent, reduce the problem of teachers' shortage," he explained.&#8232;&#8232;

However, the minister challenged the relevant authorities to protect the project from being vandalized by unscrupulous people because once damaged, it will cut off not only those in the concerned region but the whole country. On her part, Rukwa Regional Commissioner Stella Manyanya lauded the government for timely implementation of the project.